Pete Crow-Armstrong

Pete Henry Crow-Armstrong(born March 25, 2002), also known by his initials "PCA", is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Crow-Armstrong was drafted by the New York Mets with the 19th overall pick of the 2020 MLB draft. During the 2021 trade deadline, Crow-Armstrong was traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams.

Amateur career

Crow-Armstrong attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California, where he played baseball. In 2019, his junior year, he was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year after hitting .395 with three home runs, 23 RBIs, forty runs, and 47 hits over 34 games, striking out only seven times. That summer, he played in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game. In 2020, his senior year, he was batting .514 before the baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2017 but decided to declare for the 2020 MLB draft instead.

Professional career

New York Mets

2020: MLB Draft

Crow-Armstrong was considered one of the top prospects for the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. He was selected in the first round with the 19th overall selection by the New York Mets. He signed with the Mets on June 25 for a bonus of $3.4 million. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the pandemic.

2021: MiLB debut

To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the St. Lucie Mets of the Low-A Southeast League. On May 18, it was announced that Crow-Armstrong would undergo surgery on his right shoulder for a glenoid labral articular disruption, ending his 2021 season. Over 24 at-bats prior to the injury, he hit .417 with four RBIs and two stolen bases.

Chicago Cubs

On July 30, 2021, the Mets traded Crow-Armstrong to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams. On September 16, 2024, he revealed his feelings about the trade, saying, "I didn’t feel like I was a part of any trade talks that I had seen on TV or anything like that." He continued, "I had a sling on my shoulder… I thought it was a joke."

2022: MWL champion

He was assigned to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Low-A Carolina League to begin the 2022 season. He was promoted to the South Bend Cubs of the High-A Midwest League in late May. He was selected to represent the Cubs at the 2022 All-Star Futures Game. He was named a 2022 MiLB Gold Glove as one of the three best defensive outfielders in the minor leagues. In addition to all of this, he and his team, the South Bend Cubs won the 2022 Midwest League championship.

2023: MLB debut

On February 6, 2023, Crow-Armstrong was invited as one of the 32 non-roster players to be included in the Cubs' spring training camp. He was optioned to the Tennessee Smokies of the Double-A Southern League to open the 2023 season. He began the season as the Cubs' number one prospect and the sixth-ranked outfielder prospect in the MLB. He was selected to represent the Cubs at the 2023 All-Star Futures Game.

On July 31, Crow-Armstrong was promoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. In 73 games at Double-A Tennessee, Crow-Armstrong slashed .289/.371/.527 with 14 home runs, 60 runs batted in, 68 runs scored, and 27 steals. In 34 games for Iowa, he slashed .271/.350/.479 with six home runs, two triples, seven doubles, 30 runs on 38 hits, and 22 RBIs.

On September 11, 2023, after recording a .876 OPS on the year in Double-A and Triple-A, Crow-Armstrong was called up to the major leagues for the first time. After being activated prior to that day's game against the Colorado Rockies, he entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch runner but was caught stealing third base. In the ninth inning, he made his first career plate appearance, which resulted in a successful sacrifice bunt. Crow-Armstrong made his first MLB start on September 12 in center field. He went 0-for-4 with an RBI fielder's choice and made two highlight-reel plays in the outfield.

2024: Rookie season

Crow-Armstrong was optioned to Triple-A Iowa to begin the 2024 season after slashing .138/.194/.435 with four hits, four runs scored, an RBI, and three stolen bases in spring training.

Crow-Armstrong was recalled to the majors on April 24, 2024, after an injury to Cody Bellinger. In the sixth inning of the following game, Crow-Armstrong collected his first career hit, a go-ahead two-run home run, off of Bryan Abreu, against the Houston Astros.

International career

Crow-Armstrong first joined USA Baseball in 2014 when he joined the 12U National Team. The team went 7–2 during the COPABE U-12 Pan-American Championship earning a silver medal after losing Nicaragua. In 2016, he was a member of the 14U National Team Development Program and in 2017 he joined the 15U National Team. The squad would qualify for gold at the COPABE U-15 Pan-American Championships after the gold medal game was canceled. In 2018, Crow-Armstrong joined the 18U National Team. He started every game for the U.S. and helped them earn gold at the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships. In 2019, he started in the 17U National Team Development Program but was called up to the 18U National Team for the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup. Crow-Armstrong finished the tournament with a .364 batting average, 12 hits, nine runs scored, four doubles, three triples, and three stolen bases. Not only did Team USA win gold, but Crow-Armstrong was named to the U-18 All-World Team.

Awards and honors

MiLB

• Midwest League champion (2022)
• MiLB Awards All-MiLB Prospect Second Team (2023)
• 2× All-Star Futures Game selection (2022, 2023)
• Baseball America Double-A All-Star selection (2022)
• Southern League Postseason All-Star selection (2023)
• Midwest League Postseason All-Star selection (2022)
• 2× MiLB.com Organization All-Star selection (2022, 2023)
• MiLB Awards Defensive Player of the Year (2023)
• Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove Award (2022)
• Midwest League Player of the Month (August 2022)
• International League Player of the Week (May 26, 2024)
• Carolina League Player of the Week (May 1, 2022)

International

• U-18 Baseball World Cup Silver Medalist (2019)
• COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships Gold Medalist (2018)
• COPABE U-15 Pan-American Championships Gold Medalist (2017)
• COPABE U-12 Pan-American Championships Silver Medalist (2014)
• U-18 Baseball World Cup All-World Team (2019)

High school

• Mission League champion (2018)
• Under Armour All-America Baseball Game selection (2019)
• Perfect Game All-American Classic selection (2019)
• MaxPreps High School Baseball All-American Second Team (2019)
• MaxPreps Underclass All-American Baseball Junior Team (2019)
• MaxPreps California All-State Large Schools First Team (2019)
• PBR California All-State First Team (2019)
• All-CIF Southern Section Division I Baseball Team (2019)
• Los Angeles Times All-Star High School Baseball Team (2019)
• Los Angeles Daily News Baseball Player of the Year (2019)

Personal life

Crow-Armstrong played Little League in the Sherman Oaks Little League. He is the only child of Matthew John Armstrong and Ashley Crow, who are both actors.